Feature Article

LightSquared may be unable to move forward with its wireless broadband service after controversial government tests on GPS services.

An earlier company proposal was found to allegedly cause interference to GPS devices. Then, LightSquared offered an alternative, which uses less power, and thereby causes less interference.

But the wireless broadband service plans were still “shot down,” according to a report from SlashGear. “Even those plans are being frowned on by the FCC, and it appears that LightSquared may be dead before it starts,” SlashGear said.

LightSquared claims GPS manufacturers were to blame because they have “poorly designed devices,” according to news reports.” The insinuation by LightSquared was that it’s not its wireless service but shoddy GPS designs that allow interference,” SlashGear added.

Meanwhile, LightSquared said it wants the FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to head up testing of GPS – after other federal agencies showed “bias and inappropriate collusion with the private sector as reported by numerous media outlets,” according to a company statement.

For example, the Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board allegedly has “deep ties with the same GPS manufacturers who have sold poorly designed equipment to America’s farmers, public safety officials, military and government agencies,” LightSquared claimed. In addition, LightSquared recently filed a complaint with the Investigator General’s office at NASA about alleged “conflicts of interest” on the PNT Advisory Board.

By using a “fair process,” LightSquared said that its technology will be approved and will “clear the way for hundreds of millions of Americans to get the wireless broadband competition they crave,” the company added.

In other recent company news, LightSquared named telecom veteran Marc Montagner as its new chief financial officer. Previously, he was executive vice president, sales, marketing and strategy for SkyTerra, according to MobilityTechzone

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